That One Summer
by SenseiMalice
Summary: Ahhh... You gotta love stereotypes. I think he's a hippie. He sees me as some angsty little kid. But who knew they'd bring us together closer than ever? Yaoi... AkuRoku... Zemyx... Y'know, the usual.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hookayyy ((:**

**Here I am with another story out. It's just, I cannot wait for summer to come and I'm getting ahead of myself. Well... Alaska in the winter... You'd want a summer once in a while, too. So read, enjoiii, worship.~~~ :33 Once again, I have nothing to say, so I'll just say more as I go along. Okay? Okay.**

**Footnotes enabled.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaim'd**

My name is Roxas Strife and welcome to the first day of the worst summer of my life. Now that the formalities are taken care of, get the hell out of my way.

* * *

"Roxas," Cloud, my dad, sighed heavily, "This isn't the first time I've told you: You can't come. I'm sorry, but this is strictly business,"

My pout deepened, "Of course I don't want to go. Taking pictures? _Bo-ring_. But I don't know why I can't stay home. I'm almost 18. I don't need a babysitter, much less, a summer-long babysitter,"

His face hardened and he crossed his arms as his assistant fidgeted beside him, "She's not your babysitter. It's my sister, Rikku - Your aunt. And," He fished around for an excuse, "I'd love for you to stay... but wouldn't you get lonely?"

"I have friends," My heart lurched at that lie. The train depot announced that my train was boarding and I slumped my backpack over one shoulder, "But whatever. I'll see you in 3 months,"

Dad stiffened and then pulled me into a hug. His assistant, some newbie, checked his watch and leaned in, "Cloud, we're going to miss our flight if you don't hurry,"

"Right," My dad pulled away and handed me my duffel bag, "Stay out of trouble,"

I snorted, "Right, whenever have I ever been _bad..._?"

He laughed but zonked back into Mr. Dad mode, "I'm not kidding. I don't want anymore bad reports. No fighting, no arguing, no attitude, and try to get along with the other kids. Destiny Islands has a bunch of kids your age, according to Rikku. So be nice. Oh, and no more piercings. Those lip rings are enough for me,"

"They're called 'snakebites,'" I rolled my eyes at my dad's unhip-ness.

He pulled me into one last hug, "Just be good. I love you, Roxas. And I'll call you whenever,"

"Cloud..." The assistant's voice was strained and trying to rush him. I didn't even bother to learn his name; My dad would sleep with him then toss him out when he got too clingy. That's the thing with my dad: He liked fresh starts.

"Right. See ya," I pulled the large earphones around my neck onto my ears, "I got my phone," I handed my ticket to the Train Guy. He punched it and I found my seat right by the window; My dad was still waving at me at the plane depot, while his assistant was still trying to pry him away and to the airport.

I slumped in my seat: A whole summer. A fresh start. In a small town on a small island that I've never heard of. Maybe fresh starts weren't so bad after all...? I turned up my iPod as loud as it could go as I watched my dad grow smaller in the distance.

* * *

Dad was _the_ Cloud Strife. The indie, successful photographer. Ever since he sold his photos to various clients, we were no longer the traveling Father and Son. We were rich, comfortable guys living the dream. Well... Cloud was. I wasn't too sure for myself...

Anyway.... I shall tell this tale from top to bottom. Dad was gay. Forever. And his mom and dad didn't like that. Not one bit. See, they were a homophobic, house-making family. Everyone wore a smile on their face, had green grass [chemically achieved green grass], a white picket fence surrounding that grass, and a decent cookie-cutter house sitting on top of that grass. Oh, and don't forget the lawn gnome. The dad went to work as a pencil pusher; Mom cooked dinner and cleaned the house like Betty Crocker. Tragic, I know.

Dad - my dad, Cloud - had a best friend, Zack. And he was an excellent friend. But Zack had a sister, Tifa, then one thing lead to another [Beer. Lots and lots of beer helped.] and 9 months later... Here I am. Sadness struck when Tifa died right after I was born. It's okay. I was too young to miss her at all. So here my dad was -gay, single, and the father of a baby to his best friend's sister- and guess who came to his rescue. Yep, sex and all. Zack did. They both helped me grow up in Zack's apartment until I hit age 7 or 8.

Gramma and Gramps weren't so happy. After a few bitter and not so pretty arguments... Dad walked away with me, leaving behind his parents, Rikku, and Zack. We've never seen any of them since. Dad took his old pick up truck and we drove around the land, staying in countless cheap apartments, sometimes even living in the car. All we had were the car, a photographer's grade camera, and each other. Dad made some chump change from small jobs here and there: selling door-to-door crap, working in Chinese buffets, selling a few sunset shots he took. He only made enough to buy us a Happy Meal and gas for the car.

Life was rough; I was hardly in school, we were extremely unhealthy [not fat, just unhealthy] from all the fast food and 7-11 munchies, and the people I met. Oh, the people. Apparently, having a homo dad wasn't acceptable and I got my ass kicked every day at whatever school I was at. Finally, I decided to fight back. All my rough 'n' tough rowdiness was a huge factor we were always on the run. But whatever, y'know?

Finally, Cloud got his big break and a guy who had a law firm wanted one of his pictures for an advertisement in the Yellow Pages. Cha ching, Dad got one fuck of a paycheck. The guy who bought dad's pictures started bragging to his friends, then eventually, Dad was a demanded guy. Everyone wanted to know about the undiscovered photographer and what he had to offer. And Cloud gave everything he got. Some dude, manager of a minor modeling company wanted to hire him. He accepted and we finally moved into a real apartment; not one of those already-furnished crapholes that had elegant names like 'Radiant Garden.' I was 16 at the time, incase you're keeping up with me. Dad slept with the guy who hired him and was made Chief Photographer. Cue the angel choir.

So moving on, Dad broke away from models and fashion for more journalistic subjects, since he was a big enough name by then to call his own shots. Which is why I was stuck on a moving train to an island off the coast of God-Knows-Where. Cloud wanted to take a 3-month-long tour, expressing both the beauty and horror of our world. Deep, I know.

Excuse me, I just barfed a little...

* * *

The train came to a screeching stop and I snapped out of my dazed state of mind. My butt was numb and I grabbed my things; I was the only one getting off here. I immediately noticed the cool ocean air that cascaded my cheeks. The depot was empty except for a tall redhead talking to the guy at the counter. My phone stated that my long 5-hour trip was over and I was in stupid Destiny Islands; I carelessly shrugged the enormous duffel bag off my aching shoulders and pulled up my sagging jeans, despite the fact that I clearly bought skinny jeans to avoid said problem.

Redhead-Dude saw me and sauntered over to me at a painfully slow rate. What really got me was the white, toothy grin he gave me. Who was this kook?

"Roxas, right?" His voice was like a guitar; soft and melodic with that hint of edginess and bad-ass-ness.

I nodded vacantly. Those green, green eyes. Holy shit, those eyes. You could say they were like UFOs, strangely eerie, yet hypnotic and abducted your soul. I mean, my blue eyes were generic. Everyone with blue eyes could catch the light just right and make them illuminate, but green was a more unforgiving color to work with. Especially in the dim, fluorescent train station lights. And those tattoos. A black, teardrop tattoo under each eye, forever etched into his beige, flawless cheeks. Like, whoa.

He smiled again, "Rikku's waiting for you," He grabbed my duffel bag and I observed him as I followed him out of the small station. What stuck out the most was the fact he was tall. Like, we're talking 6'2" tall. Okay... that's not _too _tall... But when you're only 5'4", everything is tall. Another BIG thing about him was his hair. His hair was blood red, yet had a fiery tint to it. And not to mention every strand was perfectly shooting out of his head in crazy spikes, down to his shoulders, which he tied in a low, piece-y ponytail.

I realized it wasn't as late as I thought when we stepped out in the parking lot and I saw the afternoon sun shining brightly over head. I felt extremely warm and out-of-place in my hoodie and urban, cooler attire. Redhead was more summery: dark denim shorts cut to his knees, smeared with random gashes of various paints, but his pale yellow T-Shirt was unpainted, and he wore black and white checkered Vans. What really got me were the sunglasses he slipped on once we stepped foot outside. His sunglasses were deep purple, thick-rimmed, and seemed bulky. This guy was _weird shit. _

"Alright," We stopped in front of a Volkswagon Van [spray painted, no less...] and he tossed in my duffel bag. He really seemed like the hippie-artsy guy, considering the fact his van was packed with art supplies of all sorts. There were a few easels - a few broken and a few not broken - tucked wherever they could fit, cans of spray paint, uncapped and obviously used recently, piles of paper everywhere, boxes of markers, boxes of paints, boxes of colored pencils, boxes of paintbrushes, and endless CDs were scattered everywhere. But the weirdest of all in his car had to be the 3 headless mannequins in the back, patiently waiting for the ride.

"Get in," He smiled. Geez. He smiles too much. I obeyed and opened the passenger door and the immediate smell of coconut suffocated me.

I stared out the window, not really sure what to think of my welcomer. He was different, that was for sure. But he wasn't... creepy or weird. And I suppose you could call him attractive. If you were into hippies and Deadheads. Which I wasn't. "Roxas..." He made my name sound like Handel's Messiah or a Hallelujah chorus.

"Hmm...?" I pulled out my iPod and scrolled through the Artists.

"Nice," He simply stated, not tearing his eyes away from the road. Destiny Islands was definitely small. There was a LONG road that had shops and such on either side, a WalMart at the end of the road, and a boardwalk that lead to the ocean. The sand merged completely with the town, giving that rustic, beach-y, peaceful look. Houses were wherever they could fit; Destiny Islands obviously was relying on tourism to keep them alive. I could tell there would hardly be any residents.

"Nice what?" I glanced and Axel's charming profile.

He shrugged and laughed gently, "Just a nice, sunny day,"

"Right," I raised an eyebrow, expecting more for him to say… Nothing came out of his mouth.

"Axel," He put on his blinker and started down an extension off of the main road.

"What's 'Axel'?"

"That's my name," He laughed, "The name's Axel, commit it to memory," **[1]**

"Commit it to memory... That's a new one..." I sneered.

"I like to keep things fresh," He shrugged, "So did those hurt?"

"What?"

"Your snakebites..." He touched his skinny finger to his lower lip, right where my two metal studs were placed.

"Nope," I answered flatly. I ran my tongue along both little metal studs and felt an inner calmness rush over me. Those snakebites were my touchstone; the small glimmer of comfort in a shit situation, "Did those hurt?" I pointed to his tattoos and a lonesome black eyebrow piercing.

He laughed, "Nope... Well the eyebrow didn't. But the tattoos were a bit painful,"

"Why'd you get them?"

"Because," He pulled into the driveway of a white, small house with a big porch, "They're like HUGE conversation starters,"

I smirked and rolled up my iPod, "So here we are," Axel proudly escorted me to the porch. The musky salty air was stronger at this house than at the station and I'll admit, it was a refreshing scent compared to the hustle and bustle of the smoggy big city.

All I knew about Rikku was that she was 8 years younger than my dad [making her 25] and she was the favorite child who inherited ALL my grandparents' money. Which explained the cozy house alongside the beach. "Axel?" A very girly, young voice called out.

"Yeah," He kicked piles of skateboards out of the way. Some of them were broken, some weren't, "I'm here,"

"And Roxas?" I heard stirring on the other side of the screen door.

"I'm here," My voice was hoarse and dry. Footsteps approached the door and I saw Rikku for the first time in 8 years. And she looked much better now than ever. When I was growing up, I remember her being chubby and not fairest of the land. But now... She must've ate something new because she was still extremely short, but she was so thin now. Thin as in toned. Plus she used to have brown hair that was now dyed platinum blonde. She wore really short shorts and a pink tank top, while white flip flops thwacked against the hardwood floor.

"Roxy!!" She smiled and gave me a big hug, "You're so tall now!! And so cute!!"

"Thanks... Uhh... Aunt Rikku," Her hair was soft and it was up in a high messy bun, braided strands in the bun, too.

"Please," She laughed, "Just call me Rikku,"

"Alright... Rikku," She flopped on the torn up couch and flicked on the dated TV.

"So how was the trip?" When she settled on an old MMA fight and lounged on the couch, "Good, I hope?"

"It was," I tried to sound friendly, "Long, I guess,"

"I'll bet," She smiled, "How's Spiky? Your hair is exactly as his when he was your age,"

"Good," I rustled my hair then glanced out the large window to see Axel carrying the large mannequins from the car to the porch.

"That's Axel," Rikku explained, "He lives in the basement,"

"Basement?"

"Yeah. His parents kicked him out and I offered him a stay here," She stretched her arms, "He's majoring in Art at the local university. But it's summer, so he's not in school,"

"Why'd he get kicked out?"

She shrugged, "I don't even know. He's such a good kid. I hardly remember he lives in the basement... Quiet, nice, shy... I wonder myself what he did that made his parents want to kaboot his ass out,"

My heart sank. Reminded me of my dad's story. Rikku became fixated on the screen as a man got punched in the face while trying to pin a guy to the ground. Three hours past before Rikku spoke again, "Wow. That was some fight," She checked her watch, "Damn, that's the time? Umm.. I forgot to go grocery shopping, so here's a Twenty," She handed me the money, "There's a restaurant down the street and to the left. Pick me up a Ceaser Salad. Get whatever you want,"

"What?" But before I could get a clear answer, Rikku was leaving the living room. So I just remembered the vague directions and stepped into the dark street. The air was cold and damp from the evening ocean mist and my headphones found their way to my ears. The walk was quick and easy, just up the street and to the left, just as Rikku said. _Kingdom Hearts Bar and Grill _was flashing overhead, in neon lights.

I stepped inside the empty restaurant to see two guys at the bar counter and a table of men in business suits loudly talking and laughing. "I swear," A tall, skinny guy with sandy blonde hair styled into a mohawk _and _a mullet was threatening, "If we get less than a 15% tip again, I'm outta here!!"

A shorter guy with almost violet hair that covered half his face remained unmoved, "Whatever you say,"

"I mean it!!" The Mullet guy snapped. He then took pen out of his apron pocket and grabbed a notepad from the shorter guy, then he stormed off to the table with the obnoxious diners.

"Right," The Half-Face hair guy looked at me, "May I help you?"

"Um... Takeout," I removed my headphones and hung them around my neck.

"Here's the menu," He handed me one, "Tell me when you're ready," I nodded in reply and analyzed the menu... Just standard beach food: Hamburgers, chicken strips, fries, onion rings...

"Ready?" The guy stared at me and grabbed his own pen and pad.

"Yeah. Just a hamburger and fries," I remembered Rikku's order, "And a Ceaser Salad,"

"Will that be all?" He scribbled my order on the paper.

"Yep,"

"Alright. Ketchup? Mustard? Mayo?" I nodded to everything except the mayo, "Okay, order up!!" He attached the paper to a clip in a window leading to the kitchen.

Mullet-Guy returned with a scowl on his face, "Unbelievable... A $35.00 tab and a $1.83 tip. Selfish bastards," The men slipped on their coats and filed out the door. The Mullet-Guy continued, "Y'all have a good night,"

A few of the 7 men mumbled, "Yeah, whatever,"

That made him snap, "That's it!!" He took off his black apron and untucked his black polo shirt out of his black skinny jeans, held up by a rainbow belt, "I don't need this shit!! Work hard all day to be disrespected and unappreciated!? Hell fucking no!!"

The shorter guy rolled his eyes and he flipped the page of his book, "You do that,"

"You know what!?" The Mullet-Guy demanded, "I'm done; I quit!!" He balled up his apron and threw it at the shorter guy who caught it with out even looking up.

"That's nice, Demyx," He gently placed the apron on the counter.

Demyx growled, "Watch me," And he headed to the door, "I'm gonna give those pricks a piece of my mind!!"

The shorter guy obviously saw this routine before and he said nothing. I sat at a bar stool and patiently waited for my food. Five minutes later, Demyx came back inside and the short guy smirked, "How'd it go?"

"Bad!! I got everything I wanted to say all ready and then right when I approached them getting into the car... Zoom!! They sped off!!" Demyx calmed down and tied his apron back around his small waist and noticed me, "Have you been helped?"

"Order up!!" Someone called from the window, placing two takeout boxes on the sill. Red hair popped, followed by the infamous eyes, "Hey Roxas, this is for you and Rikku?"

I nodded and Demyx smiled, "Whoa... Whoa... Rikku Striefe? So you're Cloud Strife's kid?" I nodded again and he continued, "I'm Demyx, nice to meet ya!!"

"Roxas," I took his warm palm for a brief second then released it, "You too,"

The shorter kid stared at me intently, "So you're Cloud's kid, huh? So I'm curious... Does that mean you're a homo, too?"

"Zexion," Demyx was in an icy Mom-Voice, "Stop it,"

I didn't care really... I wasn't ashamed of my dad's lifestyle choice. Despite Demyx's scolding, Zexion continued, "So? What's your answer?"

My face froze and Demyx didn't stop warning Zexion, "Just shut up, okay? He doesn't have to answer,"

Gay for me was a very sketchy, messy subject. I guess you could say I was straight... but an incident involving Vodka and Hayner, my best friend, I looked at guys in a whole new light, "Nahh... I suppose I'm bi..."

"Mmm..." Zexion narrowed his eyes, "That's cool. I guess. So how old are you?"

"17," I didn't get out of my chair. I could instantly tell that this was going to be an interview.

"Aww..." Demyx smiled, "He's just a wittle baby!! I remember being 17,"

Axel joined us out in front, since the restaurant was literally empty besides us, "Please Demyx," He nudged Demyx's arm, "That was a year and a half ago," So Demyx was 18 ½. At least he was my age. Except he was taller.

"And you really haven't matured yet," Zexion added.

"Oh shut up. So anyway, Roxas, how long you staying?" Demyx asked, leaning against the bar.

"3 months," I mumbled, hating that I had to remind myself I was trapped here that long, "Sadly,"

"Sadly?!" Axel exclaimed, "Why sadly!? Destiny Islands is full of opportunities and inspiration and wonder and hope!! How is that such a drag, man?"

He was officially the artist, seeing "inspiration" that clearly was nonexistant, "Whatever you say,"

A family with two kids came through the door and waited to be seated. Because there was soo not enough space for them. Demyx looked at Zexion, who laid down the law, "I got this one. Since you quit for the 3rd time this week,"

Demyx got defensive, "They clearly did not tip well enough. It's like common courtesy doesn't exist anymore,"

Zexion rolled his eyes and seated the family. I got up to leave and Axel stopped me real quick, "Wait!! Before you go, I need you to hear me,"

"Okay? What?" I was actually curious to what this... beautiful guy wanted to say.

"Just that you're gonna agree with me by the end of the summer - Opportunities and wonder will overwhelm you; It's truly amazing, you'll agree. And I'm gonna help you get there,"

I stared at him hard, "Why the hell would you do that?"

He smiled and rustled my hair, "Because you need to smile every once in a while,"

**A/N: :DD**

**You like? Hope so~~~ I must shower and watch Bring It On [FTW!!], so review please. God, these small Author Notes are so weird compared to my usual, long~ass notes. Harrumph.**

**Footnote Time~~~**

**[1]~ Possibly the gayest thing out of Axel's mouth to date. Yes. Even the whole, "He made me feel like I had a heart" thing not as gay. And does he say it in the English versions? I think in KH: CoM... But I haven't played it in a LONG ASS TIME.**

**So REVIEW PLEASE!!!!one!!!!!1!!**

**Later Taters~~~**

**Sammm ((:**

**Oh, and to all new readers, HALLO!! ~~~ I am a girl. I felt it necessary to let you know. :33**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Alrightyyyy... ASDFGHJKL; I'm ready to write this fuck of a chapter. I hated being... incognito for a while, but this will make up for it... I guess.**

**By the way, sorry for the... death. I'm dead, so just read. Please. KTHX~**

**Disclaimer: Mhm. Yep. Not mine. *Disgruntled Murmur***

I walked home slowly with a wandering mind. _I do smile... What does he know, anyway? He's just a Pothead-Artist-Hippie-Dude. _But even with my angsting train of thought, that was a harsh and unfair stereotypical judgement. Maybe I should just get to know the guy...?

"I'm... Uh... Back..." I called when I stepped back into Rikku's house, "And I brought your food,"

"Ahh Shhweet!!" Rikku hopped up and yanked the bag from my hand. _Nice to see you, too..._

"So... Um...?" I stood in the kitchen archway, debating what to do next. Eat? Sleep? Sit in the bathtub for half-an-hour?

"Here," She handed me my box of food and a soda from the dated fridge, "So you found your way alright?"

"Mhm," I mumbled, not comprehending our conversation, "Met two guys,"

"Demyx and Zexion?" She predicted accurately and I nodded, "Yeah. They live in the small house across the way. Best friends since I met them,"

S-"And how long ago was that?" I popped a French fry in my mouth.

Rikku licked some salad dressing off her pinky and speared a few leaves of lettuce in her mouth, "Like... A while back. Like when they were your age. I think that was only a year and a half, though. So not all that long,"

"Mmm..." I opened the can of soda and took a swig.

"They're really sweet. Demyx is just a ball of cute; I love him to death. Zexion, on the other hand... Hmm..." She took a bite of her food and changed the channel to some oldie's music videos, "...He's quite the kid. He's really nice... Just a little icy at first. I'm sure he'll warm up to you over time,"

I felt sorta relieved that it wasn't _my _fault that Zexion is a bitch, "So Axel works at Kingdom Hearts, too?"

"Oh yeah..." She looked away from Madonna, "...It's amazing. Free food, and it pays relatively well... Since the only other places that sell food are WalMart, Burger King, and the snack bar on the beach,"

"Mmm..." I agreed through a wall of burger in my mouth.

"Actually..." She shoved a piece of lettuce in her mouth, "I think Axel is going to the beach tomorrow... I'm not sure what he's planning to do... But you should consider going with him,"

I chewed as I thought of that, "Um... Sure... It's not like I have any other plans..."

"Okay. Axel's due home around 10, so we can talk to him then," I agreed and took another ravenous bite out of my burger. The clock read 9:34, so I decided to not retreat to my room right away.

Rikku picked up the remote and clicked a few channels, landing on a wrestling match. A huge man in neon green spandex and a mustard yellow boa scarf was parading onto the ring._"In THIS corner..." _The announcer obnoxiously yelled into the microphone, _"We have the infamous SILENT HERO!!" _Fans cheered while opponents booed. In my opinion, he should've been named The Booger.

The camera switched to the door on the opposite side, another bulky man in an all-black cloak, with a few bead-necklace-things hanging around his neck. He was wearing a hood, so I couldn't see his face, _"And in THIS corner, we have... THE SUPERIOR!!!" _As if on cue, the cloaked dude peeled off his hood, revealing tan skin and - silver, is it? - silver hair down past his neck. All this guy needed was a pair of red lightsabers to be labeled off as a complete loony.

Staring at the screen, I spooned more and more food into my mouth and watched The Superior climb onto the ropes and jump and fall fall fall fall fall onto the pancaked Silent Hero. Splat. And I watched the Silent Hero pick up The Superior and twirl twirl twirl twirl him like a helicopter. Oh, and guess what. Yep, The Superior pulled out two red lightsabers - properly titled "Ethereal Blades" - and began beating the referee with them. Rikku loved this.

"Hah!! Take that Superior, you bastard!!"

"Dammit... Get up, Silent Hero!!"

"Fuck you, Superior!! You beat him, Silent Hero!!"

"Crap... I need a beer..."

And so on.

The last one she muttered when The Superior was crowned "Organization XIII Champ." She also said something about losing a bet... I don't even wanna know. The clock said it was 10:30 and so far, my

first day in this crapper... Not too shabby. Rikku stretched, yawned, and put her dishes in the kitchen, then escaped to the uncharted territory upstairs. I, however, closed my eyes and listened to the TV murmur. Until I heard the door open and shut with a bang. "I'm-a home-a!!" Axel's charming voice sang.

"Axel," Rikku came out of a room in short shorts and a tight tank top. How Axel and Rikku weren't together, I'll never understand. Dad said that Rikku has, was, and always plans to be single... And Axel... You'll probably believe me when I say this guy had a screw loose or something. For example, although she _is _my aunt, I have to honestly say she's attractive. If she wasn't my aunt... I would've _volunteered _to come here and spend a summer with her. Weird... Moving on...

I tuned back to their conversation with Rikku asking Axel, "So aren't you planning to go to the beach tomorrow?"

He nodded and swallowed a giant bite of Frosted Flakes, "Mhm. Tomorrow's my first day off in a while... and I'd paint... But I'm feeling the need to just kick back and relax... My projects can wait," _I knew it, _I thought. _Art freak. _

"Good plan... " Rikku scratched her arm and yawned, "Geez, I'm tired. C'mon Roxy... Lemme show you your room,"

I nodded and obediently got up, "Roxas," Axel called. I turned and waited for him to speak, "Wanna come with me to the beach tomorrow? I could show you around town... If you want,"

A faint blush painted my beige cheeks and I pursed my lips to fight a smile, "Umm..." I held my breath without thinking about it. At least a few minutes passed with nothing but silence.

"Alright," Axel shrugged, "Maybe some other time,"

"N-No..." I stuttered, "I'd love to go!!" But as soon as the words came out of my mouth, they seemed too loud and too cheesy. If this was back home, I'd get the shit beaten out of me... But instead, a wide grin stretched across Axel's face.

"Sweet," He cracked a knuckle, "Be ready by 10:00,"

I nodded and turned away before I could mortify myself anymore. As soon as my face was out of Axel's sight, I relaxed my cheeks and allowed a smile to grow. Sweet.

"Alright," Rikku met me by a door, "Here is your room. I put all your stuff in there while you were out. Bathroom's right there," She stepped inside the spacious room and gestured to one of the two doors along the wall, "And if you need anything..." She inched out of the room, "...Lemme know,"

I nodded and closed the door behind her, before collapsing on the bed. The room was exceptionally big and nice... Gramma and Gramps must've had quite a few pennies to leave Rikku, considering the nice, big house on the beach. The walls were sunlight yellow, and the furniture was wood and unpainted. Very gender neutral and basic... Which is nice since I expected My Little Pony decor.

Half asleep, I unpacked all my crap and set aside a beach towel and my swimming trunks. I have never owned a flip-flop, so I had to do the best with my Converse. By the time I was done, it was nearly midnight and I was exhausted. All in all, Destiny islands wasn't that bad... Whatever. Good night, moon...

* * *

Waking up and showering was something I couldn't remember. But by the time I was downstairs, dressed in my saggy skinny jeans and a blue t-shirt, spreading fat-free cream cheese on my bagel... Axel had the damn ants in his pants.

"C'mon," He stepped into the kitchen wearing baggy, ripped jeans, a light pink T-Shirt [paint stained, of course], and electric blue sunglasses hanging around the collar. His hair was long and spiky, but not long enough to be completely hippie-annoying. And that was cutting it close. He was barefoot and held his Vans in this hand and car keys in that one, "If we wanna find a good spot, we gotsta gets going!!"

I gripped the dull butterknife in my hand. Sure, the guy was cute... Borderline cute... Okay... Really cute... But his whole hippie/Deadhead crap... Not my thing. I debated the consequences of hacking him to bits with my butterknife and thought better than it, chucking it into the sink and biting down onto my bagel.

"I'm coming..." I walked slowly - very Axel like - toward him, grabbing my bag of clothes and my towel, "...Ready," My large headphones hung around my neck and I followed him out to his Hippie-Mobile. The sun was beating down, and I could feel the sunburns coming already.

His leather seat was hot against my back and the inside was hot and stuffy. After revving his engine a couple times, he finally got his VW van to kick into drive. Axel leaned over and opened the glove compartment, which exploded with ENDLESS pairs of sunglasses. He traded his electric blue ones for lemon yellow ones and collected the rest, shoving them in the compartment, only to reopen and have its contents fall out, "Damn,"

I pretended not to notice, but I spoke anyway, "You have a lot of glasses," We pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road.

Axel laughed under his breath and ran his fingers through a chunk of his hippie-tresses, "Yeah. You need a pair?"

"No,"

He simply shrugged and pushed the yellow aviators up his nose, "Alright. Whatever,"

Again, I tried to avoid the awkwardness and I pulled my earphones from around my neck and onto my ears. Only 3 minutes of peace passed before Axel interrupted my sanctuary, "'Cha listening to?"

We were heading down the road, closer to the beach and boardwalk. I grumbled under my breath, then answered, "November Blessing,"

"Mmm..." He stared at the road, "Plug it in," He pointed to the iPod jack hooked to his stereo – the only thing modern and new in his damn car. I plugged it in and pressed 'Play.' We listened to the rest of a song called 'Haunt Me' and Axel was driving with a pained expression.

"You like that stuff?" He asked so simply.

"Yeah, I do," I unplugged my iPod and slipped it in my pocket.

"Why?" He seemed mildly bewildered.

"Why?" I clarified, "Because I do,"

"It's so..." He pushed up his sunglasses again, "...Depressing,"

"And?" I ran my tongue along the inside of my lip stud, "It's good,"

"Shit," he mumbled. My cheeks burned and I was about to go off about whatever Deadhead crap he listened to, but I saw that Axel was staring out the windshield in horror, mouth agape and everything. I turned my head to see what the fuss was, and two large vans with _'Destiny Islands Day Trips' _painted on the side. A large group of people in swimsuits and holding various children were filing into the tiny seaside restaurant.

"C'mon," He pulled into the tiny, gravel-filled parking lot, "We gotta help," He stepped into his shoes and I jogged to keep up with his suddenly fast pace. We pushed through the giant crowd that was growing impatient for seating.

"Axel!!" Demyx shrieked over the chaos, "Help!!" Axel nodded and scurried through the kitchen door, leaving me to get nudged around violently by the hungry crowd. Zexion's mouth was moving, counting the amount of people engulfing the entire restaurant.

"There's 68 people," He concluded, turning to a panicking Demyx, "And we can sit 55,"

"What!?" Demyx groaned and I was still drowning in the sea of day-trippers, "That's too many!!"

Zexion furrowed his brow and glanced across the room, "We'll be fine. You get this half – All the huge families," He pointed to the smaller side with the bigger tables, "And I'll get all the smaller groups. Just hang in there... There's no other way,"

"C'mon..." Demyx pouted, then straightened up, tightening the apron around his skinny waist, "...Whatever... Who's gonna get the drinks and the phone?"

"Oh yeah..." Zexion locked eyes with me, "You... Yeah, you... Roxas, is it?"

"What?" I looked at him.

He handed me an ice shovel and an apron, "Get to work,"

* * *

The food business sucks. I shoveled ice into each glass cup, and filled each with whatever soda Demyx or Zexion demanded for. "I need two Sprites and an unsweetened ice tea!!" Zexion came through, waiting for me to fill each glass without spilling.

"Here," I gave him his drinks and answered the screaming phone, "Kingdom Hearts Bar and Grill, how may I help you?"

"Axel!!" Demyx came through and I pressed my ear closer into the receiver, trying to comprehend the other person's voice, "Axel!! I need that order for Table 7!!"

"Right-O," He kept his moving and grooving, dancing nonchalantly to the soft music in the background, "Here ya are," He pushed through two baskets of fries and a salad through without missing a beat. I had to force myself from getting distracted by his... Grace. The other cook, a scary guy named... I think Saï-Something, was silent and focused the entire lunch rush. His eyes never tore away from the grill and his long blue hair was tied in a high bun. **[1]**

"Let's go," Zexion scolded me, "Get whatever stick you have in your ass out, and give me my damn Hawaiian Punches!!"

I jumped at his bitchiness and quickly gave him his drinks. Demyx, however, was nice the entire time, "Roxas," He would call when he passed to grab his food, "I need a refill of Pepsi when you get the chance," His sweet smile shined brighter than his total stress and freak-out moments, "Thanks,"

Axel, I noticed when I snuck a glance through the kitchen window, was always watching me carefully. His green eyes locked onto me and followed me around with my every move. It was sorta... Intimidating to be watched by him so intently, yet strangely reassuring.

"Alright," Zexion came back to the bar and tossed his pen onto the counter, "It's slowing down. There's a few more tables waiting for a check, then all we have to do is clean up,"

"Thank God," Demyx rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, letting out a relieved sigh, "I was so gonna cry,"

Zexion turned to me, "Nice work, I guess. I'm gonna grab the broom and mop so we can start cleaning up," He turned on his heel, "Start filling those bins with the dishes," He pointed me toward a huge stack of empty bins and I growled internally, but regained self control.

"Alright," I did what I was told and impatiently filled the damn bins with the fucking dishes. My legs hurt and my head was throbbing, but I held it all in, wanting to go home. Demyx helped clean up and Axel and Saï-Something were elbow-deep in soapy water in the kitchen.

"Good work, Roxas!!" Demyx smiled at me and counted the tips at the bar after we were done getting the restaurant under control.

"Hmph," Zexion agreed under his breath.

"You know," Axel was inhaling French fries, "We could use a bit more help around here..."

"No, we don't," Zexion narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, please..." Demyx laughed, "If it weren't for Roxas handling the drinks _and _the call-in orders, we would've been toast. And you know that," Zexion scoffed and Demyx turned to me, "What do you think? Would you want to? The pay isn't all that hot, but the tips get really generous. Not to mention, it could be fun..."

"Yeah, please?" Axel smiled and joined into the prodding. Zexion just chewed on ice and looked at me with a blank face.

I took in a breath and saw the next 3 months stretching ahead of me, "I'm in,"

**A/N: Hahaha!! Guess who came from back from the dead!! Me!! :D :D :D So. like, I missed you all and it feels really nice to be back. ((: life got ahead of me and I needed catch up again. Now that I have straight A's [sigh. And one B in health. Oh, and in social studies] and my gymnastics got bumped up one level, I'm queen of the world. :D**

**So, like, I hope you liked this chapter and I really have a hankerin' for writing, so expect a few updates for my 3-day weekend.... :3 oh, and as for When Roxas Met Axel, I have a serious case of writer's block for that one... So i'm sorry, but I need to take a break from that one. And for the The Organization, I wanna dust that one off and work on it a bit. Lastly, expect one or two more new things... Perhaps a story or two.**

**I feel generous ((;**

**Anyway, I'm like, craving Dr. Pepper right now, so I need to get some. Read, Review, and worship, of course.**

**Love Always,**

**~~~Sam**

**P.S. Trust me on the whole Zexion/Bitch thing. I know what I'm doing.**


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